On 3/23/2018 7:55 PM, Meanie wrote:
I'm contemplating the purchase of a bench top planer. After looking
around for a used machine, I often thought about a vertical drum sander
instead. Obviously, I know the difference between the two but they
basically do the same thing. Therefore, seeking the sage advice, could I
get by with a sander instead of a planer?

"Get by?" Sure; you've gotten by w/o either so for, right?

As for how satisfactorily, that's another question and mostly dependent
upon what you intend to actually try to do. Starting w/ roughsawn from
the mill without milling will be the death of the sander in short order
unless you invest in serious industrial unit and then you'd be having to
switch belt grits to do rough "planing" to finish sanding.

If you only use surfaced material and don't need to change actual stock
dimensions significantly, "maybe"...

--